Many currently available desk and handheld communications devices are manufactured for the mainstay customer, and often fail to provide a comfortable and effective communication experience for persons with hearing impairment or persons attempting to communicate with hearing impaired persons. Hearing-impaired persons often communicate using a combination of hand movement and facial expressions. This type of communication is difficult with many current communications devices that are designed such that a user's eyes look directly at a display screen and a video camera captures an image of the user's head.